Luetkemeyer began his political career as a Missouri State Representative in 1999 and remained in that seat until becoming Missouri Tourism Director from 2005 to 2008.[2]

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Luetkemeyer is one of the most reliable Republican votes, meaning he can be considered a safe vote for the Republican Party in Congress.

Biography

Luetkemeyer was born in Jefferson City, Missouri. He earned a B.A. in political science and a minor in business administration from Lincoln University in 1974.[2]

Career

Luetkemeyer operates a 160-acre farm. He has also been a small businessman, having been in the banking and insurance business. Luetkemeyer served as a bank regulator for the state of Missouri before beginning his political career.[2]

2011-2012

Issues

Campaign themes

2012

On his campaign website, Luetkemeyer listed nine issues. They were:[5]

Health Care

His campaign website said, "Blaine understands the struggles many of Missouri’s hard-working families are going through to pay for health care. He believes that Congress should act to create solutions that encourage competition among healthcare providers and maximize personal choice for the individual recipient, not put a government bureaucrat in charge. Blaine would support this kind of market-based solution, as well as tax credits and deductions that level the playing field and encourage more competition in health care. Blaine will also support more legislation to encourage health savings accounts and small business plans. Just as important, Blaine will fight any efforts by liberals in Congress to create a one-size-fits-all socialized health care system."

Securing our Borders and Combating Illegal Immigration

His campaign website said, "Blaine believes we must stop the flood of illegal immigrants crossing our borders. He believes in the rule of law, which is why he staunchly supports efforts to crack down on illegal immigration including doing more to protect our borders. Any serious immigration proposal must ensure that all who wish to come into our country adhere to the rule of law, which is why Blaine has openly opposed amnesty bills considered by Congress. As a member of Congress, Blaine will vote for laws that punish businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants and he will vote to eliminate taxpayer funding of all benefits for illegal immigrants. Blaine also will support increase border security that not only prevents illegal immigration but also possible terrorists from entering the country."

Job Creation

His campaign website said, "Blaine believes the way to create jobs and increase prosperity for ALL Missourians is to cut taxes and reduce government red tape. He will continue to defend the historic tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 so that Missourians have more money in their pockets, which in turn will enhance our economy and lead to job creation. Additionally, Blaine will work to do away with the layers of bureaucracy and overzealous regulations that hinder economic growth and make it hard for small businesses to succeed."

Getting the Budget Under Control

His campaign website said, "Blaine knows that our nation cannot afford to continue with trillion dollar budget deficits and a $14 trillion national debt. To help make sure our nation is in solid fiscal shape for future generations, Blaine is committed to cutting spending, making government smaller, and balancing the budget. Blaine has pledged to end all Congressional earmarks so that taxpayer dollars go where they are intended rather than being redirected to costly pet projects."

National Security

His campaign website said, "In these tumultuous times, it is important for our nation to be able to defend ourselves and protect our citizens. Our nation must be ever-vigilant, and we must ensure that our intelligence and military capabilities remain the best in the world. We must ensure our military has the tools to deal with threats to our national security, and we must make sure we offer the utmost support to our troops. Every day, the brave men and women in our armed forces risk their lives to protect the freedoms we hold dear, and we owe them a debt of gratitude."

Second Amendment

His campaign website said, "Blaine is a staunch supporter of our Second Amendment rights. His support on Second Amendment issues has resulted in past endorsements from the National Rifle Association. Blaine was also a supporter of the ballot measure supported by the majority of Missourians that allows law-abiding citizens to carry weapons for protection against those that would threaten individuals and their families. Blaine is also a strong supporter of hunters’ rights and believes Congress should stay out of the way of those who enjoy Missouri’s wildlife and take advantage of their Second Amendment rights."

Sanctity of Life

His campaign website said, "Blaine’s record of support for the unborn is solid. As a state legislator, Blaine supported a ban on the barbaric practice of partial birth abortion and took on two Democrat governors in the process. Blaine has always received a 100 percent pro-life rating from Missouri Right to Life. He also opposes life-destroying embryonic stem-cell research and has pledged to oppose the radical abortion-on-demand agenda of NARAL and its allies."

Energy Independence

His campaign website said, "It is more important than ever that we work to free ourselves from our independence on energy sources from foreign nations, many of which openly oppose us. The first step in energy independence is for us to harness all of our own resources, whether oil, coal, nuclear, solar, or wind. We must drill for oil in ANWR and off of our shores; we cannot afford to leave these resources untapped. Our nation needs to make nuclear energy development a priority. We also need to encourage the development of technologies that can help us provide energy for future generations like clean coal, biofuels, solar, and wind energy."

Cap and Trade

His campaign website said, "Our nation cannot afford an energy tax, and Blaine is committed to preventing liberals from enacting one – either through the legislature or by using the EPA. Cap and trade will do nothing but reduce our nation's ability to compete in the world economy and dramatically increase the amount that the average family pays for electricity - all at a time when government should be looking into ways to increase our economic strength and let families keep more of their hard-earned money. Blaine voted against this destructive bill, and he will continue to fight to keep liberals from implementing this irresponsible policy." [5]

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Luetkemeyer voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was one of 85 Republicans that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[6]

Elections

2012

Luetkemeyer won re-election in 2012. Due to redistricting, he ran in Missouri's 3rd congressional district.[7] Luetkemeyer ran unopposed in the Republican primary on August 7, 2012. He was re-elected on November 6, 2012.[8]

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Blaine Luetkemeyer, click [show] to expand the section.

2010

On November 2, 2010, Blaine Luetkemeyer won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Christopher W. Dwyer (L), Clifford Jeffery Reed (Write-in) and Ron Burrus (Write-in) in the general election.[9]

U.S. House, Missouri District 9 General Election, 2010

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Blaine Luetkemeyerincumbent

77.4%

162,724

Libertarian

Christopher W. Dwyer

22.3%

46,817

Write-in

Clifford Jeffery Reed

0.4%

748

Write-in

Ron Burrus

0%

69

Total Votes

210,358

2008

On November 4, 2008, Blaine Luetkemeyer won election to the United States House. He defeated Judy Baker (D) and Tamara A. Millay (L) in the general election.[10]

U.S. House, Missouri District 9 General Election, 2008

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Blaine Luetkemeyer

50%

161,031

Democratic

Judy Baker

47.5%

152,956

Libertarian

Tamara A. Millay

2.5%

8,108

Total Votes

322,095

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Luetkemeyer is available dating back to 2008. Based on available campaign finance records, Luetkemeyer raised a total of $5,103,208 during that time period. This information was last updated on May 17, 2013.[11]

2012

Breakdown of the source of Luetkemeyer's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Luetkemeyer won re-election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Luetkemeyer's campaign committee raised a total of $977,424 and spent $647,737.[15]This is less than the average $1.5 million spent by House winners in 2012.[16]

2010

Breakdown of the source of Luetkemeyer's campaign funds before the 2010 election.

Luetkemeyer was re-elected to the U.S. House for a seventh non-consecutive term in 2010. His campaign committee raised a total of $1,358,842 and spent $737,857.[17]This is less than the average $1.4 million spent by House winners in 2010.[18]

Analysis

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Luetkemeyer missed 30 of 3,353 roll call votes from Jan 2009 to Apr 2013, which is 0.9% of votes during that period. This is better than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving.[19]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Luetkemeyer paid his congressional staff a total of $942,101 in 2011. Overall, Missouri ranked 21st in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[22]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Luetkemeyer's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between -$3,597,994 and $4,879,999. That averages to $641,002, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican Representatives in 2011 of $7,859,232. His average net worth decreased by 81.19% from 2010.[23]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Luetkemeyer's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $-2,784,995 to $9,599,998. That averages to $3,407,501 which is lower than the average net worth of Republicans in 2010 of $7,561,133.[24]

National Journal vote ratings

Each year, National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted, as compared to other members in the previous year. More information about the analysis process can be found on the vote ratings page.

2012

According to the data released in 2013, Luetkemyer was ranked the 118th most conservative representative during 2012.[25]

2011

According to the data released in 2012, Blaine Luetkemyer was ranked the 45th most conservative representative during 2011. This is the most conservative ranking held by any of Missouri's representatives.[26]

Percentage voting with party

May 2013

Blaine Luetkemeyer voted with the Republican Party 99.4% of the time, which ranked 12th among the 233 House Republican members as of May 2013.[27]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Blaine + Luetkemeyer + Missouri + House

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

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Personal

Luetkemeyer and his wife, Jackie, have been married for over 30 years and are the parents of three children, Trevor, Brandy, and Nikki, and one granddaughter, Riley. He is a native of St. Elizabeth.[28]